Hoda Kotb engaged to longtime boyfriend Joel Schiffman, says financier asked her to 'be his wife' during romantic beach dinner
Popular 'Today' show co-host Hoda Kotb is now engaged!
The 55-year-old confirmed on Monday morning's episode that she will soon walk down the aisle with her longtime financier beau Joel Schiffman, 61.
According to the mother-of-two, Schiffman proposed to her while they were sharing a "little dinner on the beach" as he told her to "be my wife."
“He said some beautiful things," she recalled. “My heart has literally been pounding. I was totally shocked. He had a good poker face.”
Kotb said the pair were yet to reveal the news to her daughters Haley Joy, 2, and Hope Catherine, who she adopted in April. “We’re still trying to figure out that part,” she admitted.
During an episode of Sirius XM‘s 'The Hoda Show' in 2016, Kotb announced she would be moving in with her boyfriend Schiffman whom she had been dating for three years then.
“It’s a little weird to be in your 50s and we’re like ‘Hey, we’re moving in!’” Kotb said. “It’s like we’re kids. It’s so weird.”
The NBC co-host also gushed about her relationship with Schiffman the year before. “He’s the guy that gives me butterflies at 50 years old,” she said.
Speaking to People previously, Kotb called it "one of the most natural relationships I’ve ever been in."
“I’m so happy, I really am. But you know sometimes you hate to jinx something. I’m like, ‘don’t jinx it!’" she said.
When Kotb adopted Haley in 2017, Schiffman was left out of the domestic adoption application documents to simplify the process. Nonetheless, she told People at the time that “Haley will call him Dad.”
“I was afraid to even say it out loud, because then it felt so real,” she told the outlet. “I said, ‘Think about it for a day or a week or whatever.’ And he said, ‘I don’t need a day. Let’s get this journey going.’ At that point, I blubbered like a baby. It was like the dam burst.”
“[He] has been so great,” Kotb gushed about her beau, who has an adult daughter from his previous marriage named Kyle. “He’s such a great dad and a great influence.”